"State Fictions and the Friction of Frontier Terrain: Songpan and the Huanglong Pilgrimage Since Ming Times," January 19 at Pitt.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will host Donald Sutton of Carnegie Mellon University and his talk "State Fictions and the Friction of Frontier Terrain: Songpan and the Huanglong Pilgrimage Since Ming Times" on January 19.

Japanese-English Reading Circle in Shadyside, from January 20.

The next series of the Japan America Society of Pennsylvania's Japanese-English Reading Circle will start from January 20 in Shadyside.

2017 Japanese animated film Mary and the Witch's Flower (メアリと魔女の花) at Cinemark theaters January 18, Row House Cinema January 19 through 25.

The 2017 Japanese animated film Mary and the Witch's Flower (メアリと魔女の花) will play at Pittsburgh-area Cinemark theaters on January 18, 2018 and at the Row House Cinema as part of it's New Animated Films series from January 19 through 25. The distributor provides a summary:

From Academy Award®-nominated Hiromasa Yonebayashi – animator on Studio Ghibli masterpieces Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, and Ponyo, and director of When Marnie Was There and The Secret World of Arrietty – comes a dazzling new adventure about a young girl named Mary, who discovers a flower that grants magical powers, but only for one night.

Mary is an ordinary young girl stuck in the country with her Great-Aunt Charlotte and seemingly no adventures or friends in sight. She follows a mysterious cat into the nearby forest, where she discovers an old broomstick and the strange Fly-by-Night flower, a rare plant that blossoms only once every seven years and only in that forest. Together the flower and the broomstick whisk Mary above the clouds, and far away to Endor College – a school of magic run by headmistress Madam Mumblechook and the brilliant Doctor Dee. But there are terrible things happening at the school, and when Mary tells a lie, she must risk her life to try to set things right.

Based on Mary Stewart’s 1971 classic children’s book The Little Broomstick, Mary and The Witch’s Flower is an action-packed film full of jaw-dropping imaginative worlds, ingenious characters, and the simple, heartfelt story of a young girl trying to find a place in the world.

Tickets for both the dubbed and subtitled versions at Cinemark theaters are currently available online; Pittsburgh-area Cienmark theaters showing the film are Monaca, Monroeville, North Hills, and Pittsburgh Mills. Tickets for the Row House Cinema's screenings are available online as well.

2017 Japanese movie Gintama (銀魂) in Pittsburgh, January 20.

The 2017 Japanese movie Gintama (銀魂) will play at the Hollywood Theater in Dormont on January 20.

Based on the best-selling action comedy manga by Hideaki Sorachi, GINTAMA takes place in an alternate Edo-period Japan, where an Alien race has taken control, forcing Samurai to lay down their swords. Once feared as the “White Demon,” former samurai Gintoki Sakata now works as an everyday handyman – until a master swordsman tasks Gintoki and his friends with finding the cursed sword Benizakura to keep it from falling into the wrong hands. Packed with the sword- swinging sci-fi action and offbeat humor that have made the manga a classic, GINTAMA is bound to delight both fans and anyone looking for a journey to a visually-stunning universe where fantastical action lurks just around every corner.

Released in Japan in July, Gintama is the third-highest grossing domestic film in Japan this year. Tickets for the two screenings, 4:00 pm and 9:00 pm, are available online.

The theater is located at 1449 Potomac Ave. in Dormont (map), and is accessible by Pittsburgh's subway/LRT at a block south of Potomac Station.

MEPPI Japan Lecture Series - Tokyo, One of the Safest Cities in the World, January 18.

"Tokyo" by kalcul (Creative Commons).

The first MEPPI Japan Lecture Series of 2018, "Tokyo, One of the Safest Cities in the World" will be held at Carnegie Mellon University on January 18. The lecture series is presented by the Japan-America Society of Pennsylvania and sponsored by Mitsubishi Electric Power Products, Inc.

Why is Tokyo so safe? After devoting 15 years to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, Police Inspector Naruomi Ebitani now works at Carnegie Mellon University researching information security. From his experience in both countries and his police officer’s perspective, he will address the differences between policing and crime in Japan and the United States.

The lecture runs from 6:00 to 8:00 pm in Margaret Morrison Carnegie Hall and is free and open to the public. Registration is required and can be completed online.

Storytelling with Motoko at Alphabet City in April.

via motoko.folktales.net.

The City of Asylum's Alphabet City will host Japanese storyteller Motoko on Saturday, April 7.

Ryoichi Kurokawa and Novi_sad at Wood Street Galleries, from January 26.

from unfold.alt, via ryoichikurokawa.com.

Three installations by Ryoichi Kurokawa—two solo and one collaboration with Novi_sad—will be at Wood Street Galleries downtown from January 26 through April 8. Opening night will be free and open to the public from 5:30 to 10:00 pm as part of January's Gallery Crawl.

Japanese artist, born in 1978, lives and works in Berlin, Germany. Kurokawa’s works take on multiple forms such as installation works, recordings, and concert pieces. He composes the time sculpture with the field recordings and the digital generated structures, and reconstructs architecturally the audiovisual phenomenon. In recent years, his works are shown at international festivals and museums including Tate Modern[UK], Venice Biennale[IT], Palais de Tokyo[FR], Transmediale[DE], EMPAC[US], YCAM[JP] and Sonar[ES]. In 2010, he was awarded the Golden Nica at Prix Ars Electronica in the Digital Musics & Sound Art category.

The Wood Street Galleries website has lengthy introductions to the exhibitions. Wood Street Galleries is located at 601 Wood St. (map).

Mitski at Cattivo, March 16.

NYC-based Japanese-American singer-songwriter Mitski will play at Cattivo in Pittsburgh on March 16. A September 2017 Pitcfork podcast calls her "one of the sharpest young voices in indie rock" and continues:

her raw and evocative lyricism meeting meticulous and sprawling musical ambition.

She studied studio composition at SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Music, where she recorded her first two albums, 2012’s Lush and 2013’s Sad, New Career in Business as student projects. With graduation came a move to Brooklyn, where her 2014 breakthrough, the blistering and relatable Bury Me at Makeout Creek, established her as a favorite of the DIY scene and beyond. With 2016’s Puberty 2, Mitski’s star power came into total focus, through her visuals, her outspokenness, and most of all, her brutally honest songs. She’s been traveling the world on tour ever since.

Tickets for the all-ages show will go on sale at 10:00 am on Wednesday, January 10.
Cattivo is located at 116 44th Street in Lawrenceville (map).

Korea Economic Institute's "The Future of Korea" in Pittsburgh, January 17.

The Korea Economic Institute of America [KEIA] and World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh will present "The Future of Korea" on January 17. A profile of this outreach program, from the KEIA:

KEI's Future of Korea is an outreach program that strengthens interest in U.S.-Korea relations with community members, scholars, and students outside of the DC metropolitan area. KEI hosts a series of six to ten programs annually with leading local World Affairs Councils throughout the United States.

The Future of Korea program features panel presentations by a team of up to three people, usually one member of KEI, a representative from the U.S. State Department Korea Desk, and a diplomat from the Embassy of the Republic of Korea. The panel addresses all aspects of U.S.-Korea relations and the situation on the Korean peninsula, including political, economic, and security issues, followed by a question and answer session. In addition to the core event, the program often includes a similar panel discussion at a local university or high school and various media events. Other events are added depending on the wishes of the local host organization. These successful and popular programs have attracted as many as 2,000 participants in some cities.

The panel presentation will run from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm in the Founders Room of the Duquesne Club downtown (map). Tickets are $30 for World Affairs Council members and $45 for non-members.

Movie & Mumble with 1996 Japanese film Shall We Dance (Shall we ダンス?), January 13 in Cranberry.

The 1996 Japanese film Shall We Dance (Shall we ダンス?) will play in Cranberry as the year's first installment of the Movie & Mumble series hosted by the Cranberry Area Diversity Network.

He's an overworked accountant. She's an accomplished dancer. Passion is about to find two unlikely partners. The 1996 Japanese romantic comedy “Shall We Dance?” will launch the 2018 Movie & Mumble series. No reservations are necessary. The PG-rated feature, with English subtitles, will be followed by an open discussion led by Elena Geil, a former resident of Japan.

The event runs from 1:00 to 3:00 pm at the Cranberry Public Library (map), and is free and open to the public.